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Programming note: Podmass will be taking next week off for the Thanksgiving holiday.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“This has been an incredibly expensive, an incredibly cynical, and incredibly depressing election. Having said that, watching Herman Cain run for president was like watching the most entertaining car crash I’ve ever seen.” —John Oliver, The Bugle

“How much sympathy is polite in regard to the complaint ‘I haven’t recently savored mouthfuls of blood’?” —Paul F. Tompkins as a character with a vampire friend, on The Thrilling Adventure Hour

“What’s the old expression? Don’t fucking kick my cock into a bucket when I’m the one who does a lot of the cock-kicking? I don’t remember it word for word.” —Greg Proops, The Smartest Man In The World

“I know you’re just some lady in a bathrobe right now and I’m eating a banana, but this feels great.” —Pete Holmes recalling a strange conversation on You Made It Weird

Nocturnal EmotionsAfter more than 10 years in the music industry, indie-rocker Sean Tillman, a.k.a. Har Mar Superstar, has developed a loyal following of comedians, actors, and fellow musicians, some of whom have also become his close friends. His new Earwolf podcast, Nocturnal Emotions, just started a few weeks ago, but he’s already used his connections to pull in some amazing guests not normally found on the podcast circuit, everyone from child-actor turned artist Macaulay Culkin to freak-folk singer Father John Misty.

Since Tillman already has something of a rapport with each of his guests, the ensuing awkwardness is kept at a minimum. But that doesn’t stop him from pushing his guests to reveal personal stories, which he delves into pretty quickly in this week’s episode with Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. In the “Embarrassing Moments” portion of the show, Flea describes several comical but emotionally scarring moments from his childhood, before jumping in to an interesting conversation on the different dynamics of the fan/rock star relationship. Nocturnal Emotions is a welcome change of pace, and the hourlong format serves as the perfect platform for artists like Flea, who aren’t as prone to droning on about the minutiae of their personal lives. [AF]

OUTLIERS

The Old School Wrestling PodcastVirtually every interview with an aging wrestler features some sort of diatribe about how the Internet killed or severely wounded professional wrestling. A connected world produced millions of “smart marks,” fans who gobbled up behind-the-scenes gossip and understood wrestling’s predetermined nature while maintaining an appreciation for the athleticism, drama, and absurdity of the spectacle disguised as sport. Whatever the impact on 2012’s version of wrestling, the Internet has undoubtedly provided a boon for wrestling nostalgia through YouTube, web reviews of old matches, and smartened-up shows like The Old School Wrestling Podcast. Hosts Dre and Black Cat take the simple premise of recapping wrestling events and turn it into a highly listenable blend of reverent and smartass commentary.

The hosts share an easy chemistry that works whether they’re admiring a classic event like WCW’s 1989 Great American Bash or basking in the stupidity of the Yokozuna Body Slam Challenge, a 1993 WWF event that celebrated American exceptionalism by giving bargain-bin sports figures and steroid-inhaling wrestlers the opportunity to win a truck by body slamming a 700-pound man named Rodney masquerading as a Japanese sumo wrestler. And the show never seems to get bogged down in the temptation to be excessively wistful or snarky, even while reviewing events as entertaining and surreal as a 1997 Hell In A Cell match between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker. Professional wrestling’s farcical nature and timeless appeal to confused adolescent boys make it a prime target for the 21st century’s easy fetishism for the past, but The Old School Wrestling Podcast manages to look back while keeping its intelligence and sense of humor intact. [TC]

THE BEST

The Bugle#213: Free At Last!Co-hosts John Oliver and Andy Zaltzman, who’ve brilliantly dissected the U.S. presidential election cycle over the past few months, deliver another excellent episode in this post-mortem of the election. Much of their derision is targeted at the state of Florida, whose confusion over counting votes confounds the hosts. And an analysis of what Obama faces in his second term carries the kind of bite only outsiders like the British hosts can deliver without seeming partisan. It’s an unvarnished look at a broken system that’s spiked with great humor and never ventures into territory that’s too bleak. A bit surrounding the leaked Romney victory website is particularly sharp, and a later segment about T-shirt (and taco) cannons rounds the episode out well. [MG]

Freakonomics Radio#101: Mass Transit HysteriaAfter taking a week off to celebrate the 100th Freakonomics Radio episode, Stephen Dubner returns with Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal to discuss the ups and downs of mass transit. Kicking off with some counterintuitive findings (mass transit for most Americans is actually less energy-efficient than driving, since so few people use it), the conversation moves on to proactive ways to make mass transit better. The change in topic is welcome, since it turns what could be an interesting but rote discussion of data into a dynamic talk about specific way to get people to start riding buses and trains. [NC]

Hang Up And Listen: The Wildcat Doth Protest Too Much EditionThe drumbeat of concussion coverage on HUAL continues this week with a flood of high-profile players (including QBs Alex Smith, Michael Vick, and Jay Cutler) going down last Sunday. The league has been aggressive in discouraging helmet-to-helmet hits, but that doesn’t account for all the concussions—at this point, Vick and Cutler can get concussed just from getting looked at the wrong way. Elsewhere, the gang muses over the stupefying soap opera that is the Los Angeles Lakers, which fired head coach Mike Brown after only five games, then courted and dumped 10-time NBA championship winner Phil Jackson. They also gets some good licks in at the hypocrisy of NCAA men’s basketball, which pillories the “one-and-done” style of Kentucky coach John Calipari while exalting Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who would surely be happy to get the NBA-ready players Calipari recruits. [ST]

How Was Your Week#88: “Angry Horseback Riding”: Todd Oldham, Nikki GlaserJulie Klausner and Todd Oldham have similar tastes and fascinations: They find common ground in their appreciation of John Waters, Grey Gardens, Amy Sedaris, and Alexander McQueen, creating an immediate rapport between the two. The result is a funny and animated conversation that focuses on the aesthetic sensibilities that underlie Oldham’s design, with most of the conversation devoted to Oldham’s work in fashion and photography. Things feel so natural that it’s hard to believe that Klausner and Oldham are meeting each other for the first time. Rounding the episode out is a short and earnest chat with comedian Nikki Glaser about relationships and coping with painful breakups. [DF]

Judge John Hodgman: Dog DutyOn this week’s episode, the caretaking of a young Labrador inspires a broader and more insightful reading of the dynamic between a parent and an only child. Zoe brings a weak case against her mother Rochelle, who has been put in charge of caring for the dog in their Silicon Valley home while Zoe is attending NYU. Zoe doesn’t feel Rochelle is doing enough for the dog—specifically, she wants it put in “agility training”—but here and elsewhere, she seems intent on micromanaging care for the animal (and for her mother) 3,000 miles away. Judge Hodgman’s ruling isn’t surprising, but he wisely identifies the real issue as the solipsism of only children who grow up believing themselves to be the center of the universe. And as an only child himself, he lays down his ruling affectionately. [ST]

The JV Club #36: Kathleen Rose PerkinsThe JV Club has one of its funniest episodes yet when Episodes star Kathleen Rose Perkins joins Janet Varney for a hilarious and poignant conversation about fish flies, regrets, and growing up in a male-dominated household. Perkins and Varney have immediate chemistry, and their banter at the start is delightfully quick. They bounce silly ideas off each other, but when the conversation gets serious, they don’t sugarcoat any of the less favorable parts of their adolescent experiences. Their conversation is one that young girls would benefit from listening to, particularly when the discussion shifts to Perkins losing her virginity at 14 and how Janet’s teenage drug use taught her valuable lessons that have informed her adulthood. It sounds heavy, but running jokes like imagining eggs as animal periods keep the mood light and a little gross. The highlight of the episode comes when Perkins reads one of her high-school poems about death, an overwrought piece that will leave listeners cackling. [OS]

The Mental Illness Happy Hour#86: Ted LydeThe success of The Mental Illness Happy Hour hinges on the willingness of its guests to be totally honest and vulnerable in exchange for minimal personal gain. A fascinating conversation with Ted Lyde highlights this bargain as he opens up about the horrors of parenting. The actor, comedian, and director speaks lovingly about his disabled 9-year-old son while still being brutally honest about the heartbreaking lost friendships and marital resentment that followed his birth. It’s an admirable bit of raw honesty from Lyde, who never falls back on cliché or feel-good lies about raising children. The selflessness of Lyde’s vulnerability becomes clear when he tells parents of special needs children to contact him on Facebook. While guests on The Mental Illness Happy Hour may receive little personal benefit from publicly sharing their most intimate pains, guests like Lyde are undoubtedly making many people feel less alone in the world. [TC]

Mohr Stories#105: Stacy PeraltaJay Mohr’s interview with skateboarding icon turned documentary director Stacy Peralta unfolds like a skater struggling to pull off a new trick and eventually sticking it. Skating is the rare area of pop culture that Mohr is only passingly familiar with, so an awkward discussion of Dogtown And Z-Boys doesn’t yield any new insights into the influential crew’s mythology. And the two buzz past Peralta’s new Bones Brigade: An Autobiography, a de facto sequel that covers the Tony Hawk generation. But the episode gets serious air when talk transitions to Crips And Bloods: Made In America, and Mohr finally gets under Peralta’s skin. The director lets loose about the humanity behind a culture of stone-cold killers and hints at a bunch of deleted scenes. Mohr’s unconventional interview style testifies to the power of podcasting as he digresses into Eddie Vedder impressions and productive-yet-smartass questions. In the hands of a lesser communicator, the riffing could derail the conversation, but Mohr stays on topic and ekes out a win. [DXF]

Monday Morning PodcastBill Burr goes a little long this week, and yet it feels less rambling than most shorter episodes. Two of his better bits here—one about some miscasting in Argo leading to ignorant bar fights, the other about the effect that the Tony Bennett-type music played in malls has on shoppers—aren’t just aimless, joke-studded tangents, but actually seem to have points, facetious though they may be. And despite starting off with a couple of rather gloomy emails from a disillusioned member of the military and a guy who euthanizes animals for a living, the mailbag segment redeems itself many times over, with Burr becoming perplexed by an inquiry involving an animal dildo and then verbally eviscerating another listener for being a creepy, classist asshole. As always, it lags here and there, but it’s still a pretty solid 80 minutes. [CG]

The Moth: Adam Gopnik: Charlie RavioliNew Yorker writer Adam Gopnik brings The Moth one of its most charming kid-related stories in a long time. In the tale, his daughter has an imaginary friend with the adorable name Charlie Ravioli, but he comes with a neurotic twist: Influenced by the family’s Manhattan surroundings, Charlie is always too busy to play. It’s a funny story that could become gravely concerning, but Gopnik cleverly spins it into an affirmation of New York’s sense of possibility, and a vindication of his decision to raise kids there. [SG]

My Brother, My Brother And Me#128: Y Tu Hermano TambienIt’s kind of fitting that Travis and Justin McElroy talk about their recent mutual birthdays at the top of this week’s episode, considering they spend a good portion of the rest of it talking about mortality and death. It’s not as grim as it sounds; in fact, it’s quite silly, with bits about starting a cemetery, a mobile crematorium truck, and having one’s corpse bronzed after death. Still, the inherent bleakness of that type of talk may or may not be what prompts Justin to make a couple of funny but uncharacteristically dark jokes. The non-death-related bits are almost exclusively about sex, particularly of the bizarre variety, which the McElroy brothers practically specialize in making funny at this point. It’s all absurd and hilarious, making for yet another strong episode. [CG]

Nerdist#281: Zach BraffAs both the star of Scrubs and the mastermind behind Garden State, Zach Braff has a career that’s noteworthy for vastly different reasons. Throughout his Nerdist interview, Braff comes off incredibly humble, matching his wit to that of the podcast’s hosts, but he also pushes the episode forward. His recent work on Sam Raimi’s Wizard Of Oz prequel provides an opportunity for him to discuss his acting and directing methods while inserting enough anecdotes to keep the episode lively, all the while maintaining an open discussion about his approach toward his various projects. The episode breezes by due to the instant camaraderie between Braff and the hosts, making it an enjoyable listen for fans of the actor as well as fans of Nerdist’s light yet informative interview style. [DA]

Nerdist #283: Max LandisAs the son of famed writer-director John Landis, screenwriter Max Landis has some big shoes to fill. However, his ever-increasing body of work, including this year’s Chronicle, is beginning to transcend the name recognition on its own merits. During his Nerdist interview, Landis comes off as a high-strung ball of energy, making the Nerdist hosts appear tempered and calm by comparison. Throughout the interview, Landis jumps from one thought to the next, the only throughline being that each anecdote is equally fascinating. At the episode’s, end Landis gives an informative and potentially useful walkthrough on how to successfully pitch a story to studio executives. [DA]

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Never Not Funny#1121: Counter Programming With Maria BamfordRecording an episode more than two weeks in advance gives Jimmy Pardo anxiety that the show is “not in touch, like we’re on another planet,” but a sense of detachment is welcome with a guest like Maria Bamford. Her last appearance was both surreal and deeply personal, and this one splits the difference, finding her mostly using her presumably normal speaking voice in another semi-interview on her upcoming special, her greatest fears, and, fittingly, another round of Stupid Question Of The Week (which contains possibly the best question yet). It’s clear early on that Pardo has taken a shine to Bamford, and it’s easy to see why: Warm, thoughtful, and weird, she’s an absolute joy. [SM]

Professor Blastoff#78: RecoveryAs fans of Professor Blastoff know, Tig Notaro has had a rough year. Instead of beating a dead horse for this week’s topic, though, the hosts wisely focus their attention on the idea of recovery rather than the act. The crux of the episode, Notaro and Kyle Dunnigan’s evacuation of New York City ahead of Hurricane Sandy, addresses how personal history influences the anticipation of recovery, while simultaneously taking listeners on a fun, ironic ride through that adventure. The episode doesn’t lack for laughs—funny cracks at Notaro’s expense are inevitable, and Dunnigan’s voice work continues to, um, kill—but there’s a noticeable dip as the episode progresses. That’s not a knock: The closing dissection of what draws people to help others, and whether anyone can truly recover completely, is a profoundly affecting resolution that’s strong enough to stand on its own. [SM]

Sklarbro Country#120: Talking Shop With The Pop: Tom Papa, James AdomianTom Papa may still be carrying some lingering bad publicity from the massive failure of The Marriage Ref, but he’s tough enough to shake that off as a short episode in his career. Papa has great stories, from opening for Kenny Loggins to building a friendship with Jerry Seinfeld while supporting him on tour. Since Papa lives in New York, the Sklars take the opportunity to get his perspective on Hurricane Sandy, and Papa shares some interesting insights about being disconnected from news sources and unable to see the full effects of the damage. [KM]

Sklarbro CountrySklarbro County #25: Tommy Johnagin, Dan Van KirkComedy is torn between the unstoppable-force/immovable-object relationship of collaboration and competition. Too often the podcasting world can get hung up on patting everyone on the back in congratulatory fashion, so it’s refreshing when participants put on their game faces and talk openly about competition. The Sklars like Tommy Johnagin—runner-up during the final season of Last Comic Standing—but they’re not afraid to discuss the problems with trying to fit comedy into the reality-competition format. To Johnagin’s credit, he doesn’t back down from sharing what he honestly thinks about the nature of competition in comedy, based on his experience on the show and on the road after gaining exposure on television. [KM]

Sound Opinions #363: John Cale, Tame Impala Review, Jim’s Desert Island JukeboxGreg Kot and Jim DeRogatis’ in-studio visit with John Cale doesn’t go quite as deep as it could, but it manages to balance the three important points of Cale’s career: Velvet Underground co-founder, producer to the likes of The Stooges and Patti Smith, and bold yet undervalued solo artist. The new Adventures In Nookie Wood might not be the strongest album Cale has produced this century, but Cale makes a strong case for it as the interview delves into its hip-hop-influenced production. [SG]

Stuff You Missed In History Class: The True Story Of The Chevalier d’Eon: Part 1The Chevalier d’Eon was a French noble who became known as “The Patron Saint Of Transvestites” to at least one SYMIHC listener who suggested him as a topic for the show. This reputation stems from being the first known man to be painted in portrait in the guise of a woman. But the Chevalier’s reasons for doing so are especially fascinating. While it might at first seem an odd topic to stretch over two episodes, hosts Deblina Chakraborty and Sarah Dowdey make a strong case for it by providing a thorough history of 17th-century French politics and d’Eon’s background in espionage. (He was a decorated soldier who ultimately sought revenge against Great Britain for the disgrace France had suffered from The Seven Years’ War, and was personally tasked with planning a secret invasion of Britain.) Part 2 promises to tell the details of when he assumed the identity of a woman for many years. [DT]

Stuff You Missed In History Class: Johann Dippel And The Elixir Of LifeThough likely not the inspiration for Frankenstein, as covered in last year’s spooky podcasts, Johan Dippel indeed worked in Castle Frankenstein and performed some bizarre biological experiments. Originally intending to study theology, he was considered an odd loner, and his dissertation on skepticism was titled “On Nothing.” Dippel’s skepticism drove his studies from then on, making his theological writing increasingly confusing. He began to drift into topics he knew less about, becoming fascinated by alchemy and pyromancy (fortune-telling with fire) instead. Though he achieved some success in alchemy, he found himself on the run much of his life, as mysterious scandals continued to plague him. Though these scandals were difficult for the hosts to research, their connection to Dippel’s experiments on dead animals lead to some fascinating speculation. [DT]

Stuff You Should Know: What Will Happen When We Reach The Singularity?The Singularity is the supposed moment when AI becomes AI++ and attempts to overthrow humanity. Since The Singularity is a pretend event in the future that cannot possibly predicted, this interesting philosophical discussion goes far off the rails several times. “True AI” is still not a real thing, but the hosts do their best to use science to springboard themselves into accurate opinions. The second half of the episode is equally fascinating, as the discussion moves on to current robots that are “definitely smarter than insects” and their eerie ability to interpret the words “good” versus “bad.” [DT]

Stuff You Should Know: How Close Are We To Holographic Environments?The ultimate in nerdy Star Trek technology, holographic environments or “tele-immersions” are actually closer than most people think. Thought to be of particular use in desensitizing the military to prevent PTSD, training surgeons, and allowing for “hugs,” it would unfortunately require more bandwidth than is currently possible. Though there are frequent turns for the sad in this episode—like the moment host Josh Clark utters the sentence, “Virtual hugs are the holy grail”—Clark and co-host Chuck Bryant don’t need to throw out too many cheesy science-fiction jokes to keep the topic engaging. UC Berkeley has its own tele-immersion lab, and goofy pop-culture one-offs like the Tupac hologram prove the topic relevant. [DT]

The Thrilling Adventure Hour#96: Beyond Belief: Caped FearThrilling Adventure’s “Beyond Belief” segment can be so bizarrely inventive that a caper centering on a Bela Lugosi-style vampire archetype can seem like a relatively simple comfort. In this case, a vampire has lost the “thrall” that enables him to subdue victims (cue subtle impotence jokes), and must do battle with two other vampires, one of whom is a Southern gent and another who speaks in histrionic, inverted syntax. The key to the episode is the plot, which enables the show’s writers to delve into (or just make up) some rather complicated vampire arcana. [SG]

Uhh Yeah Dude #347Because there’s still no such thing as podcasting school, Uhh Yeah Dude hosts Jonathan Larroquette and Seth Romatelli can be forgiven for occasional lapses into unprofessionalism, as they look up the names of character actors, canceled sitcoms, and kid flicks on air. Episode 347 is guilty on multiple counts of dead air, but because Romatelli deserves to host a TV show where he just describes TV (in this episode: Hallmark holiday movies, local-news gotcha journalism), and because Larroquette still has more stories of childhood trauma and weirdness to recount, the live moments more than make up for the dead. [CW]

Walking The Room#129: Tiny Shirts And Sow’s EarThe end is nigh for the white man, and Dave Anthony and Greg Behrendt couldn’t be happier. Much of the celebration comes from the swapping of headlines about how the Republican Party got their asses handed to them on a multicolored platter, and what that means for the political landscape. (Behrendt: “It’s a full-throated repeal of the tassel loafer and striped tie.”) With the rest of the episode dominated by Anthony’s dismissal of overfriendly fans in Calgary in the first segment, and Behrendt’s examination of the death of rock ’n’ roll in the last, it all could register as a fountain of white guilt, possibly due to the hosts’ exhaustion. (The episode was recorded after midnight, and feels like it, in a good way.) But the hosts display their knack for finding funny ways to rag on their own ilk with a warped sense of self-preservation. [SM]

Who Charted?#102: Silly Dance Party: Todd GlassIt’s fun to hear guest Todd Glass show up on podcasts where he’s not technically driving the ship, as his energy and intensity still dominate whatever show he’s on. Glass’ passion and exuberance make up the large part of his comic appeal, and it’s especially endearing when he’s talking about something as inane as his silly dancing parties, which stemmed from his insecurities about dancing in public. He softens a bit when talking about how sweet Paul Reiser was to him back in his early days in comedy, but no matter what energy level Glass is at, his presence makes a 100-minute episode fly right by. [MS]

WTF With Marc Maron#333: Daniel SmithMarc Maron is skilled at interviewing comedians for obvious reasons, and his in-depth discussions with musicians stem from his passions outside of comedy. But Maron can also occasionally become hyper-engaged with other topics he finds particularly striking. Enter Daniel Smith, whose memoir Monkey Mind details his struggle with crippling anxiety. During his interview with Maron, Smith re-creates a number of enthralling episodes with such detail that it’s no wonder he’s thought of turning the book into some kind of live performance. The tour-de-force story of Smith losing his virginity and subsequently devolving into a crying mess is the highlight, and Maron prods for more details in the right places, but mostly just sits back and enjoys listening to a gifted storyteller share his experiences. [KM]

WTF With Marc Maron#334: Colt CabanaThe topic of professional wrestling may not appeal to those who aren’t already fans of the spectacle, but Colt Cabana’s patience in explaining his passion for his chosen career lends itself to a surprisingly endearing and informative chat with Marc Maron, who is determined to find the similarities between pro wrestling and stand-up comedy. From experiencing anti-Semitism on his college football team to attending wrestling school to crafting a bad-guy persona, Cabana’s stories are reliably interesting, although Maron finds his sweet (that is to say bitter) spot toward the end, when Cabana professes his resentment regarding his experience with World Wrestling Entertainment. [CZ]

You Made It Weird #100: Chelsea Peretti Interviews Pete!Pete Holmes makes no bones about swiping the idea for this episode from Marc Maron, who invited Mike Birbiglia to interview him for the 200th episode of WTF. But despite the shit he gets about it from both his guest/interviewer Chelsea Peretti and Maron himself—who sadly doesn’t answer the phone when they call him to get his take—Holmes’ 100-episode anniversary is distinctly You Made It Weird. Both he and Peretti joke often about how every episode of YMIW is essentially Holmes talking about himself, so this one really isn’t much different than a regular interview with Peretti would be. But Holmes’ best worst friend is far more engaged and friendly (or at least her version of friendly) than she’s been on her past appearances on the show, and their frequently laugh-out-loud banter shows why Peretti has become the unofficial, unwilling YMIW mascot. And all joking aside, she does manage to draw some new revelations out of Holmes, making this a great episode for longtime fans and newcomers to the podcast alike. [GK]

You Made It Weird#101: Jessica St. Clair Pete Holmes and Jessica St. Clair turn in the second two-hour-plus You Made It Weird of the week, but luckily their conversation ricochets around in just the right way. The two are clearly at ease with each other, but not so at ease that the episode sinks into navel-gazing career or personal chatter. (Which is somewhat of a pitfall: At one point, Holmes jokes that the show should just be called “Lunch.”) Rather, Holmes and St. Clair keep scrambling to one-up each other with rambling but appropriately bizarre anecdotes and riffs about weirdly sized and/or configured genitals. [SG]

THE REST

The Best Show On WFMUThis week’s Best Show starts off with some great calls from comedian Kurt Braunohler and Fredericks from New Port Richey, but with no consistent topic and an absent Jon Wurster, the momentum quickly trails off. [AF]

Mohr Stories#106: Ryan SicklerIn a disposable B.S. session, Jay Mohr yuks it up with Ryan Sickler—host of The Crabfeast, one of the podcasts in Mohr’s Fake Mustache network—revisiting their Halloween psychic visit and gabbing about the NBA, classic rock, and cars. [DXF]

The Smartest Man In The World#184: FingersThis episode was recorded the day after the election, with Proops recapping the results. There are plenty of laughs, but not much outside his typical political coverage. [NC]

The Todd Glass Show#73: Family Show
Despite the host’s intensity, the serious discussions that sometimes dominate The Todd Glass Show are starting to sound like the same conversation happening over and over again. [MS]